09/11/2026
25 years ago today, I was in White Lake, North Carolina, working alongside my father remodeling a lake house when I heard on the radio that a plane had struck one of the towers in New York City.
I remember thinking, This can’t be real. How could that happen?
Then the second plane hit.
We stopped working. I spent much of that day sitting in the truck, listening as the number of missing continued to climb. What has stayed with me most were the first responders. While everyone else was trying to get out, they were going in.
I was a young man then, working for my father. I wasn’t a father myself. I didn’t own businesses or have employees and families depending on decisions I made. I couldn’t have imagined where the next 25 years would take me.
Today, I understand responsibility, sacrifice, family, and leadership differently.
I also understand something I probably didn’t fully appreciate that morning: there really is no such thing as an ordinary day.
The people you love matter. The time you have with them matters. And being there when others depend on you matters.
Twenty-five years later, I can still picture myself sitting in that truck in White Lake listening to the radio.
I remember where I was.
I remember who I was.
And I will always remember those who never made it home.
September 11, 2001 — Never Forget. 🇺🇸
God bless those we lost, God bless those who protect and serve, and God bless America.
J. Stephenson
#9-11-2001
